The Best & Worst Sketches From Julia Louis-Dreyfus' 'Saturday Night Live'
This weekend, Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus returned to Saturday Night Live as host for the third time. Since SNL is on NBC it should come as no surprise that there a little bit of Seinfeld made it into one of the sketches, and it even included another alum from the iconic comedy series. Beyond that, this last episode in a batch of three in a row actually turned out to be the best in the trio, though the pre-recorded sketches definitely overshadowed the live sketches this time.
Read our full review of the Julia Louis-Dreyfus Saturday Night Live episode below.
The Best
God Is a Boob Man – Finally, Saturday Night Live takes aim at these over-zealous, pandering, senseless religious films that offer no cinematic value and just have a moronic agenda. The sad thing is this movie isn't much of an exaggeration from what really unfolds in a movie like God's Not Dead or in the sequel in theaters now. The use of Rachel Platten's "Fight Song" just knocks it out of the park.
New Mercedes – This commercial parody is so expertly made that it feels like a real Mercedes commercial. It's such a simple and stupid idea for a commercial, but it's so fantastically executed that I was laughing really hard at it, especially the continued shots of the batteries being ejected from the car. It was like a classic commercial parody from the 90s.
Heroin AM – This commercial parody actually aired before the Mercedes ad, and it's another prime example of stellar execution. It looks and feels just like a real prescription ad, but just about over the counter heroin. My favorite part was the breaking down of the ingredients and the testimonies from other family members.
The Average
Cinema Classics – Once again, Kenan Thompson is the best part of this recurring sketch. While the meat of the bit was a funny gag, I felt like it should have gotten a little more extreme by the end of it. Still, everyone was great in this sketch, and I really like the idea of Thompson's host character getting sick of covering terrible movies.
Pool Boy – There have been so many movies about relationships between older women and younger men going wrong, that the idea of the younger kid not really caring when the woman has to end it is pretty funny. However, beyond that ongoing gag, there's not much to this sketch. Sure, Joe Jonas popped up for a second, but he didn't really do anything.
Match.com Event – There's so much to like about this sketch, but I just wish it came together a little more smoothly. The vocal modification was such a creepy but cool addition to this concept, and it really made it better than it otherwise could have been. But some hiccups from the special effects affecting Beck Bennet's voice did create a couple of weird moments. Funnily enough, this sketch felt like it was something straight out of the 90s as well for some reason, though I'm not sure why.
Brooklyn Democratic Debate – Larry David always kills his Bernie Sanders impression, and the addition of Julia Louis-Dreyfus returning as Elaine from Seinfeld was a nice touch, but it didn't really seem to be worthy of reviving a character from a beloved comedy show. Plus, the return of Vanessa Bayer's impression of Rachel from Friends felt forced, almost like it was replacing the hope of another Seinfeld character returning. However, I did like the joke that made fun of Bernie Sanders' lack of an answer for how to truly break up the banks.
The Worst
Who Works Here? – While the observations about the people who work and shop at CVS are right on the money, the sketch never really seems to find its footing with laughs. The ending is particularly devoid of anything hilarious, even though that little dance from Leslie Jones was amusing. This one probably could have been cut.
Huge Jewelry – Imagine if the characters from Bronx Beat did a commercial for jewelry, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as when Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph put on similar characters. Sure, these are Long Island women, but even the audience only seemed to be laughing just to be polite as opposed to finding the sketch truly funny.
Weekend Update
I've been catching reruns of Saturday Night Live on weekday mornings on VH1, and seeing how Tina Fey used to operate with Jimmy Fallon and Amy Poehler just solidified how much Colin Jost and Michael Che need to up their game. They need more life in their deliver, and they just need to have more chemistry. There's a hint of it again very briefly with one of the segments below, but it's never enough. They have to figure something out to make this better.
Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal On Kobe Bryant's Retirement – I could watch an entire movie following Kenan Thompson and Jay Pharoah as Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal. I love that Barkley is somehow the straight man while O'Neal is his bumbling sidekick. It just cracks me up every time.
Animal Annie – It's finally nice to see Aidy Bryant doing something that actually works. This character functions a lot like Michael Che's neighbor Willie, inserting awful details about her life in a very upbeat manner. But the addition of her being on the brink of a breakdown adds a little more to it.
One-Dimensional Female Character On Screen Time – They really went for broke with this character feeling like a robot, but I almost wish they would have let her appear a few more times before actually hitting it on the nose. Maybe they just think this character has run its course.
The Host
Since Julia Louis-Dreyfus was once a cast member for a short time, this was a bit of a homecoming for the comedy actress, which she reflected on for a bit in this monologue. Whenever she stops by the show, she seems to get the writers to do their best work. While the live sketches on the show left something to be desired, Louis-Dreyfus kept things going smoothly, brought the right amount of energy, and even brought a Veep cameo with her. Thankfully, she was in far more sketches than Russell Crowe was last week, and this episode was infinitely better over all.
The MVP
Rhys Thomas and Dave McCary – You don't know these two by name, but they directed the three pre-recorded sketches that I thought were the best of the night. They did such an amazing job with perfectly matching the style and tone of the pieces they were parodying, and I just think their work deserves to be recognized, especially on a night when there wasn't a clear standout among the cast this episode. (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).
The Final Word
Honestly, I'm surprised that this episode turned out to be the best of the three episodes in a row that SNL churned out this month. Usually the writers and cast are tired by this point and they don't do as well, but since the preceding two episodes weren't exactly outstanding, maybe they saved some of their energy for Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
We'll be back after Brie Larson hosts SNL on May 7.